The process of troubleshooting print device malfunctions can be time-consuming, and it often relies on inaccurate data. When a print device encounters an error when printing a print job, the print device may generate (or a user of the device may cause the device to generate) a problem report. The user or print device will send the problem report and the printed document to a technician, who may try to recreate the problem by causing the print device to re-print the document. However, at the time of re-printing, the print device may have one or more configuration settings that differ from those that existed at the time of the error. This may make it difficult to diagnose and correct the error.
By way of simple example, a user who is trying to print a print job on size A4 paper may find that the printer actually printed the job on 8½×11 inch paper instead. This may have occurred because the printer's A4 paper tray was empty, jammed or dislodged from the print device. However, by the time that the technician attempts to re-create the problem to diagnose its cause, the tray may have been replenished, un-jammed or repositioned so that it correctly operates.
This document described methods and systems that address the problem of accurately diagnosing print device technical issues so that the issues can be corrected.